BBC director general Greg Dyke has acted to contain a possible outbreak of Hutton hysteria by warning there will be "no scapegoating within the BBC" as a result of the report into the death of weapons inspector David Kelly.

In a clear attempt to pre-empt a barrage of critical stories in the run up to the report's publication, Mr Dyke today took the unusual step of emailing all staff to appeal for calm.

And in a sign of the robust defence he is planning, he indicated he would only be acting on Hutton criticism he accepted as reasonable.

"What is important once Hutton is published is that if the BBC is criticised we learn from whatever is written - assuming of course that we agree with what is said," Mr Dyke told staff.

In line with an interview in December suggesting there would be no senior resignations, Mr Dyke reassured staff there would no sacrificial lambs.

He also appealed to BBC workers to "ignore" the "ridiculous" newspaper stories, and said he was particularly incensed by a report in the Independent on Sunday claiming the head of radio news, Stephen Mitchell, could be forced to resign. The newspaper alleged Mr Mitchell could lose his job after failing to pass an internal email from Today editor Kevin Marsh outlining doubts over Andrew Gilligan's "flawed reporting" to his superiors.

It was Gilligan's reports for Radio 4's Today programme alleging No 10 had "sexed up" an Iraq intelligence dossier that sparked the chain of events leading to Dr Kelly's death.

"Over the weekend the Independent on Sunday ran a totally inaccurate report suggesting that one person in particular had been identified within the BBC News operation to be blamed if things go badly in the Hutton report," said the email.

"So I thought I would write to everyone saying that there will be no scapegoating inside the BBC as a result of the Hutton inquiry," added Mr Dyke.

The director general is prepared to strenuously defend the corporation's position if he feels Lord Hutton's report is overly critical of its journalism.

He accepts that BBC systems were flawed but will argue the corporation has already taken steps to safeguard against future failings, including a review of its complaint procedures.

Mr Dyke is adamant the broad thrust of Gilligan's report was correct and has sanctioned a media strategy that will involve the corporation going on the offensive should it come in for what he believes is unfair criticism in the report.

"We have already made a number of changes to our processes and procedures as a result of the whole affair and, as I told the inquiry when I gave evidence, we also plan to make changes to our editorial guidelines in a number of areas," he said, adding that he would wait until the report was published before announcing these.

The corporation has already introduced a ban on presenters writing for newspapers and has installed World Service chief Mark Byford as deputy director general to oversee a root and branch review of its complaints procedure.

"January will be a testing time for the BBC and what it will require from all of us is to ignore some of the ridiculous stories which will inevitably be published in the press - like the one in the Independent on Sunday - and just stay calm," added Mr Dyke.

Gilligan has told friends he has absolutely no intention of writing a kiss and tell book, despite reports yesterday that he was in line for £250,000 serialisation rights.

Sources say he is "shattered" by the nightmare of the last seven months and simply wants to draw a line under the affair.

And earlier today Richard Sambrook, the BBC's head of news who could himself come in for criticism in Lord Hutton's report, also moved to smooth over the ripples created by yesterday's Independent on Sunday story.

"The BBC has made it clear that it is now waiting for Lord Hutton to publish his report before deciding anything more than has already been announced - and, more to the point, that Stephen Mitchell is a much admired and trusted figure within the corporation," he said.